Human settlements minister Lindiwe Sisulu is aware of threats to eliminate her‚ but the veteran ANC leader says she is more than capable of defending herself.
Sisulu was speaking in Khayelitsha‚ Cape Town‚ on Saturday shortly after delivering the Lilian Ngoyi memorial lecture.
“Yes, I did receive information that there was a possibility of me being eliminated and I did indicate that I was looking into that matter. I am capable of protecting myself ... But I have lived my life since then aware that not all is okay in my life‚” she said.
Sisulu said intelligence was a “tricky sphere” and one needed to be quite certain of the facts before acting on them.
“A few days ago Cyril Ramaphosa‚ the deputy president of the ANC‚ indicated that he knew about that‚ both to himself and myself. It seems to me it is something that was known within the leadership of the ANC‚” said Sisulu.
Sisulu‚ a former intelligence minister and the member of ANC armed wing Umkhonto WeSizwe‚ said she was taking precautions to protect herself. She has also served as the country’s defence minister.
Sisulu is touted as a potential candidate to take over from President Jacob Zuma in December. Her supporters‚ some who spoke to the Sunday Times on Saturday‚ are hard at work campaigning in areas like Khayelitsha and the Eastern Cape.
She said it was known within the leadership of the ANC that certain leaders’ lives were under threat. “I’m assuming they have applied their minds and that they’re doing something about it. I learnt about this threat to my life in June last year … and I have taken all the necessary precautions to ensure that I protect myself‚” said Sisulu.
Sisulu also said that she was not entirely sure what was meant by radical economic transformation.
“I was saying to one of the speakers here that whatever is termed radical economic transformation‚ if it does not have the immediate improvement of the conditions of the poorest of the poor‚ it will not take off. Whatever the definition is. If radical economic transformation addresses that then I would go along with it. If it does not include lifting the poorest of the poor out of poverty than perhaps my understanding is slightly different‚” she said.
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